A Detective's Story
by Snoofeli
Summary: It was so simple...which meant it was all the more complicated.[SK] R&R.
1. Murdered

I don't own Kingdom Hearts...or any final fantasy characters what not...

* * *

23 year old Sora Harada stared long and hard at the pictures on the white board. The mug of coffee that he had barely drunk from had gone cold hours ago. Little bugs frantically buzzed around the lamp on the desk. The office's only source of light. His forefinger and thumb worked nimbly flipping a biro pen back and forth. 

A digital clock on the desk reads 3:24 a.m.

The white board was adorned with scribbles of various name, dates and times. In the centre were photo's of three men.

The first photo showed a young man with messy blond spiky hair and cold blue eyes.

_Name: Cloud Strife_

_Age: 22_

_Occupation: Assistant Manager of M.C enterprises_

The next photo down, was of a man with Brown hair which reached as far as his lower neck, on his face was a long scar running from his forehead to his left cheek.

_Name:Squall Leon hart_

_Age: 25_

_Occupation: Security guard at Traverse town hotel_

Then there was the last one.

A traumatising photo for any commoner who isn't used to the idea of "brutal murder".

However for a detective that had been involved (and solved) many famous cases, this was nothing out of the ordinary.

His face was frozen in time, fixated at a look of...

_Sheer horror and shock._

The deathly whites of his eyes bought out the fact they were nearly popping out of his sockets.

His mouth wide open, it was as if a deathly scream was raging inside the cage that was his body, struggling for its release but just as he was about to scream his breath came short killing the raging fury within him.

All his four limbs were dislocated from his body pools of blood lay where his arms and legs were once join. There was a deep bloody gash leading from his chest to his lower abdomen, the open cut exposed his eternal organs.

_Name: Seifer Almasy _

_Age: 21_

_Occupation: Student of business studies at Radiant Gardens University_

_Status: son of Satoshi Almasy owner of Satoshi and co._

About two weeks ago a murder had taken place at the Traverse town hotel in the green room at about 11:53 p.m. Cloud and his long time friend Seifer, who had just completed his first year at university had travelled together to Traverse town for celebrations. According to close friends, they had both gone to a friend's party before the murder.

At around 11:58 p.m Leon the security guard, heard noises coming from the green room. Upon ramming open the door he found cloud standing over the dead Seifer, hands dripping with his blood. With investigation by the police force of Cloud's hotel room, the red room next door, the murder weapon was found. A sharp 12 inch blade, a DNA sample taken from the blood on the blade matched a sample of Seifer's blood and the fingerprints matched Cloud's. Cloud, admitting to the murder of his friend was thereby charged.

Still deep in contemplation he opened the second story window, leaning out to inhale the fresh, cold night air.

He closed his eyes taking a moment to clear his head.

After a few minutes he sat back down on his chair. Lighting a cigarette, he decided to go through the case files again.

_Bring bring…bring bring_

The ring of his office telephone snapped him out of his concentrative phase.

He picked up the phone.

"Hello, this is detective Sora Harada speaking"

"SORA!!! I KNEW IT!!", a female voice boomed from the other end of the line.

"Yuffie...don't tell me... You guys broke up again?"

Yuffie Kisaragi was Sora's energetic assistant, she and Leon met a few months ago through Aerith who was good friends with both. It was "true love as first sight" you could say, except for the fact that they've been on and off ever since.

"Hmph! me and Leon are FINE thankyou very much", she stated in defence.

Sora rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I called to see if you were still here...which you are, now would you PLEASE go home and get some well needed rest THAT YOU HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT ON FOR THREE DAYS STRAIGHT!"

"I..."

"And don't give me that crap about I-too-busy-I-have-to-figure-out-this-case!", Yuffie cut Sora off before he could string together another word.

"But there's something not right about this one...I can just feel it", Sora replied.

"How much clearer can it be?!"

"They found his finger prints on the murder weapon, He was standing right next to the victim when Leon found him in the room."

"And to add they even found out that Seifer and Cloud had been in an argument for weeks over that debt Seifer had owed Cloud's company PLUS Satoshi and co. and M.C have been at each others throats since forever!"

"What more evidence do you need?!", Yuffie protested.

Sora gave a heavy hearted sigh.

"Look, Sora... Whatever you need to investigate...could you please do it tomorrow? You'll be dead in three days at this stage...look just please..."

He knew there was no arguing with Yuffie and she was right. His sleepless days have left him feeling like a zombie.

" alright Yuffie...you win, I'll lock up the office and go home"

"Good! Now I'm going to call your house in 20 minutes and if you're not there... I'll hunt you down and drag you back home dead or alive!", She said triumphantly.

"Alright..I'll be there...goobye Yuff".

Sora hung up, picked up his jacket and keys and headed towards the door.

Locking up he exited the building, his mind still filled with thoughts of the murder as he walked towards his Mazda RX-8 in the car park.

_The parking lot_

"Aww come on baby don't play so hard to get we all know you want this", a spiky red haired guy purred into the equally red headed girl.

He had her cornered between the old building and a Toyota supra.

Panic filled her every inch as he nuzzled her neck taking in the sweet scent of her hair.

She tried to push him off, her attempts were futile.

One hand was around her waist moving down slowly towards her skirt. His other hand pressed against the wall that was behind her.

"Scream all you want, it's no use there's no one there...", he said playfully.

"Axel...please", her voice dripping with the presence of near emotional breakdown.

"Help! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" She called out to the silent of the night, desperately hoping somebody would come along.

She was about to call out again when he silenced her with his lips, forcing his tongue down her throat.

_Back to Sora_

Approaching his car, he pressed the button on his key unlocking all four doors. As he was about to enter, he heard a faint noise from the other side of the car park.

"_Probably just two cats scratching each other's eyes out for a half eaten sardine.."_

Even thought he knew it was probably nothing, something inside him just kept bugging for him to check it out.

Running over to the other side he followed the muffling noises until finally he saw...

* * *

Well that's the end of the chapter... 

I was inspired to write some detective story after my mum made me watch this weird Chinese detective, law, court drama thing. It got pretty exciting.

This story isn't really going to be based on it though.

Im hoping for at least 5 chapters or something...

So yeah... R&R well you probably already read it so yeah... reviews would be appreciated.


	2. Rescued

Enjoy the chapter peeps.

* * *

"_what's that?"_

Three droplets on the ground gleamed in the moonlight, catching Sora's eye. He kneeled, bringing a finger to the substance; rolling it between his thumb and finger.

"_Oil..."_

"_It's still fresh"_

Someone has been here not long ago.

Perhaps still here.

He had a bad feeling about this...**very bad feeling**.

What was most suspicious was that the noises had stopped. At that exact moment.

* * *

Upon hearing footsteps on gravel, Axel broke apart from her. She gasped for much needed air as a result from near suffocation. His left hand moved from the back wall, grabbing her wrist causing her to wince in pain from his tight grip. 

"Stay quite...if you want to live...", he whispered menacingly into her ear.

Somebody else was in that car park besides him and Kairi.

He wasn't going to risk being found out. Not tonight.

Placing his right hand over her lips firmly, he scanned the car park for any movement.

* * *

Sora was still fixated at the spot where he found the oil droplets. Something told him whoever was out there didn't want to be found. From now on every movement he made was crucial to whether he would find _them _or not. 

The car park was still quite packed at nearly four in the morning. Most of the cars belonged to workers at the 24/7 supermarket and gas station. Some police officers from the station a street away also parked here. There was usually no one here until six in the morning when all the workers and officers finish their late night to early morning shifts.

Until then, it was a great place to hide.

Sora stood up and cautiously took a few steps, advancing towards the direction where the noises were coming from before, occasionally stopping to observe for any movement.

* * *

Axel Panicked. The footsteps were drawing closer and closer. He would have to act fast. 

He released his hand that was firmly clamped to her lips giving her an; If-you-dare-to-scream-you're-dead kind of look. With his free hand he picked up a nearby pebble and threw it to the other side of the car park, hoping it would serve as a distraction.

* * *

Sora turned abruptly towards the sudden noise. 

He smirked to himself.

"_I've got you now..."_

* * *

Hearing the footsteps grown faint, Axel was relieved. He heaved a silent sigh of relief, brushing the perspiration off his forehead with his right hand. 

She wanted to scream, to scream for whomever it was to come back but she didn't dare knowing what would become of her if she did. All her hopes of being saved drained away slowly with the disappearing footsteps.

He waited until the night was silent once more. No more footsteps, movement...

_No one..._

He decided to make his escape while he still could, before they returned again. His right arm wrapped firmly around the petite girl once again as he was about to make run to his Honda Civic.

* * *

"That old pebble trick doesn't work for me..." 

Axel froze. Whoever was behind him wasn't just anyone at all...

"_How...how the fuck did he..."_

He was scared...just a little scared. But she could feel it. Secretly smiling to herself she took his fear into her advantage turning around slowly to gaze upon the face of her hero.

Crystal blue met Sky blue as their eyes locked for a brief moment. She noticed he had unruly chestnut coloured hair sticking out in spikes of all directions. He was handsome… there was no question about. "Hot" however wasn't exactly rhe right word to describe it, he was more "cute".

She snapped herself out of her daydream back to the situation at hand. Axel, still with a firm grip on her waist turned around slowly.

"Hey...woah...chill out man we were just talking...weren't we KAIRI?"

She picked up on the slight emphasis on her name which told her if she didn't play along she was sure to face the consequences.

"That's not what it looks like to me?", Sora cut in.

Axel's expression darkened.

"And I don't see how it's any of your business"

"Let her go..."

"What if I don't want to?" Axel sneered.

Sora pulled out a 6-inch all black revolver from inside his jacket and aimed it at Axel, Hoping the man in front of him would not provoke him to shoot. He preferred not to use it as a weapon but as a threat, relying on combat if anything else if he resulted to violence. Usually it wasn't loaded unless he was in the middle of a seriously dangerous case. Today it wasn't loaded. He was plain buffing, hoping the man would fall for it.

Axel panicked. His mind jumped from left to right, from back to fourth in search of his next move. He wasn't even armed properly and this man in front of him who just happened to be sticking his nose into something that wasn't his business pulls a gun on him?

Then he remembered...

"Let her go" Sora stated again, this time in a more serious tone than before.

Axel didn't want to do this but he felt trapped and resulting to _this _was the only way he saw out.

He swiftly reached into the pocket of his black coat, pulled out a pocket knife. Flipping it open he held it against Kairi's neck causing her to whimper in fright.

"d...drop the gun or I-I'll..."

Sora sensed the uncertainty in his voice.

"Ok...ok calm down buddy, you don't have to do this...It doesn't have to be like this...let her go and we'll talk this through", Sora replied cautiously.

"I'm not your FUCKING buddy!"

"Drop the gun..."

"DROP THE GUN DAMMIT!"

Not wanting to anger the red head which might lead him to do something unreasonable, he slowly kneeled down and placed his gun on the ground and just as slowly rose to his feet again.

"Alright...I dropped the gun now let the girl go unharmed...no one has to get hurt"

"The only talking you'll be doing is in HELL!" and with that leaned forward grabbing the revolver. Kairi watched in shock as she came to the realisation of what Axel was about to do.

_She couldn't just watch..._

_Time seemed to slow for her..._

"Axel!! NOOOOO!!!!!"

She grasped onto the arm that still held the blade to her neck, pushing the arm away with all her strength she created enough space for her to escape from his wrath. Turning attention to the revolver that was now aimed at Sora, she lunged for it.

_Click._

But she knew...

Knew she was too late as she heard the release of the trigger. She clamped her eyes shut and clasped both ears with her hands, not wanting to hear or see any of the bloody site that was sure to befall in front of her.

Axel grinned wickedly as he pulled the trigger.

"_He's going to the dogs..."_

A satisfied smirk still plastered on his face as he waited for Sora to meet his death.

_1…2…3…_

The smirk disappeared from his face as he realised something was wrong.

Sora was still standing infront of him.

Alive.

And this time he was the one to grin.

Taking advantage of Axel's confusion, he rushed forward grabbing Axel's wrist with his hand, a sharp twist of his arm caused Axel to hiss in pain and release his hold on the pocket knife. Kneeing him in the stomach sent the spiky read head to stumble back and hit his head on a nearby lamp post.

Knocking him out cold.

Walking over he picked up his 6-inch revolver and stuffed it back into his jacket.

He approached the petite girl. Her eyes still shut and hands clamped over her ears. He kneeled down besides her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Slowly she opened one eye, seeing Sora right in front of him, his face just a few inches away. If any closer she would be able to feel his warm breath on her cheek. She opened her other eye and let her hands fall from her ears.

"w...wh...where's Axel?" she asked, still shaken up from the events of earlier on.

Sora pointed towards the lamp post where Axel lay, out cold.

Feeling a huge weight lifted from her, Kairi slowly rose to her feet, her trembling legs caused her to fall halfway up only to land in Sora's arms.

It was then she realised.

She forgot to thank him. The man she owed her life to..

"T-Thankyou...thankyou...thankyou I...I don't know what could have happened...if you hadn't turned up...I

Tho...thought I would surely be...I...thankyou...Thankyou...Thankyou so much!!!!"

Tears now brimmed her eyes. It seemed now all her bottled emotions were set free.

And before he knew it, she had wrapped her arms tightly around his neck in a deep embraced. Burying her head into his chest, taking in the scent of his cologne.

Sora was taken back.

A girl he had just met less than an hour ago... A girl he didn't even know the name of was locked in a lover's embrace. With him!

He was even more taken back as his arms seemed to have a mind of their own. Wrapping around her tightly and securely. He closed his eyes, taking in her scent.

Just for a brief second.

To him...

It seemed as if they were the only two in the world.

He was bought back to reality as she released herself from his embrace.

A long and awkward silence took place as both parties realised their actions beforehand.

"I...I'm sorry...I can be abit impulsive at times" she said, breaking the silence.

"It's alright...I'm used to it"

As soon as those words came out of his mouth he mentally cursed himself for sounding stupid. She however didn't seem to notice.

"Are you ok?"

"y...yeah just fine...I should be...it's over now"

The tremble in her voice told him other wise.

"Thankyou for everything...I...I better go home"

She turned around and began walking away. Her steps quickened as she got farther and farther away.

"Hey! Wait up!!!"

He ran after her. No way was he letting her walk home by herself especially after what had happened.

He placed a hand on her shoulder as he caught up to her.

"I'll give you a lift... I can't let a girl like you walk home at a time like this"

"n...no it's alright I don't want to be more trouble than I already was before..."

"I mean...I nearly got you killed...why would you want to take me home after that.."

She turned away unable to make eye contact with her saviour.

"Hey! Don't go blaming yourself for that... the gun wasn't even loaded it couldn't have killed ghost"

"Come on...my car's just over there"

"...alright..."

A small smile crept onto her face causing him to smile back.

She followed him to his Mazda RX-8.

Just as they were about to go in the sound of an engine starting caught Sora's attention just in time as it sped out of the car park. He immediately realised who it was. He was so wrapped up in helping the girl that he had forgotten about the red headed man.

The colour on her cheeks disappeared as she realised who it was.

"Don't worry, I got his licence plate number..." Sora said reassuringly.

However the look of concern on her face ceased to disappear.

The drive to her house was filled mostly with silence with and an occasional question or two. Sora didn't want to pester her about the details of the incident seeing as she was still coming to terms with the events herself.

"So...what's your name?"

"It's Kairi..."

"I'm Sora by the way..."

Another silence filled the air.

"So...you live with your parents?"

"No...it's just me..."

"_Alone...? Would she be alright by herself for the night?"_

Sora stepped on the brakes. What he was about to ask might bring across the wrong idea and he may even get himself a well rounded slap but it was worth a try anyways.

"Hey…Kairi don't take this the wrong way…but seeing as how things turned out tonight...d..do you want to spend the night? Just that...I mean you'd be home alone and everything..."

The next thing he knew, they were speeding down the main road.

In the opposite direction.

Sora was surprised. Not one slap, not one scream of "YOU PERVERT!" in fact she had agreed.

Unknown to Sora, Kairi was equally as surprised. Here she was in the car of a complete stranger and she had just been convinced into spending the night at his house?

"_Why do I even care so much" _

Having worked with the law for quite some time Sora did become quite sympathetic, not the he was originally cold hearted. Still, he was surprised at how much he actually worried about her safety.

Parking his car in the residential area, they both got out and made their way towards his apartment on the second floor.

"well we're here"

He unlocked the door, holding it open for her.

Now, the apartment had a nice interior, spacious living room and balcony and custom designed kitchen and peach coloured walls. It was a great apartment...besides the fact that old newspapers, empty pizza boxes and ice cream wrappers along with a whole lot of other junk almost covered its every inch.

He mentally cursed himself. If he knew of the events that were to befall tonight he would have spent a good day at home. Cleaning.

He never had many guests over except for his best friend Riku and occasionally Tidus and Wakka but he sure wasn't used to a girl being in his apartment except Yuffie of course but that was different.

"Sorry about the mess... I get carried away with work and it leaves little time for cleaning..." he stated, embarrassed by his apartment's messy state.

"It's alright, I understand...your job must take a lot out of you"

She picked up a few junk food wrappers and placed them in the bin under the kitchen sink

He disappeared into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Sounds of drawers being opened and paper being scrunched could be heard coming from behind the doors. The door re-opened again, Sora appeared with a single white towel, a singlet and a pair of boxers. He handed them to Kairi and directed her to the bathroom where she could shower and change into fresh clothes for the night.

Sora flopped down onto the leather sofa.

Completely exhausted, .he closed his eyes wearily taking a moment to comprehend the events of tonight.

The sound of running water could be heard throughout the apartment.

The ringing of his phone rudely disturbed Sora from his moment of peace, He put the phone on loud speaker not bothering to pick up the hand set. Big mistake.

"Detective Sora Harada...DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!!!" Yuffie's loud voiced boomed from the other end of the line...

Sora Jolted. He had completely forgotten...

"YOU SAID YOU WOULD BE HOME IN 20 MINUTES! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS NOW?! IT'S FREAKING 4:30 A.M!!!"

He was sure she just busted an ear drum...

"DON'T TELL ME YOU WERE STILL AT THE OFFICE ALL THAT TIME!!! YOU'RE NOT GOD YOU KNOW!!!!AND EVEN GOD NEEDS TO NAP ONCE IN A WHILE!"

"Yuff...There's a good explanation for this I swear...I'll tell you about it tomorrow"

"OH THERE BETTER BE! OR I'LL..."

"I promise ok? I'll explain everything tomorrow"

Suddenly he caught a glimpse of Kairi standing in the doorway, she had finished showering, already changed into the singlet and boxers Sora gave her.

He found himself admiring at her figure but quickly turned away, not wanting to be noticed for staring.

"Look...Yuff...I got to go now...I'll talk to you tomorrow ok?"

"Bye"

"So you're a detective?"

"...yeah..."

"_Yuffie was that loud huh?"_

"I guess I don't really like to brag about it"

Kairi smiled

_A detective ..._

"I supposed everything kind of makes more sense now..."

A small part of Kairi wondered whether he saved her because he felt obligated. She brushed off the thought. She should be greatful that she was saved at all.

"You should get some rest, it's pretty late already ...or early you could say"

"I already laid out a blanket for you and there's extra's in the wardrobe if you get cold"

"But where are you going to sleep?" Kairi enquired.

"Right here", he said while patting his leather sofa

"Don't worry about me, this wouldn't be the first night I've spent on here"

Kairi stifled a giggle as she turned to enter the room.

Then she stopped.

"Hey...Sora?" She said turning around to face him.

"Thanks...for everything ..for tonight...I really appreciate it"

"It's nothing really...I...I don't mind...I mean...you're welcome"

"_Why am I stuttering so much?"_

"Well. Goodnight..."

"Night."

Kairi closed the door behind her, got into the king sized bed and snuggled in the blanket. His scent was strong in here and somehow it made her feel warm and dizzy inside.

* * *

Sora took out the revolver from his Jacket pocket. He stuck a hand under the sofa, feeling around for a certain object. 

Finally he pulled out a small box.

He opened the lid revealing 9 shiny bullets.

After loading his gun he placed it back into the inside of his Jacket and placed the box back under the Sofa.

Something was telling him he was going to need it.

* * *

Yeah I up loaded this chapter again..fixing small errors that I easily missed the first time around. 

Well..wasn't as bad as the first chapter that I uploaded again and again countless times


	3. The other side

Well we all know who owns kingdom hearts...and it surely isn't me!

Enjoy peeps.

* * *

"Fuck...FUCKING HELL!!!"

He clenched his fist angrily and punched the steering wheel so hard that it was sure to leave him with bruised fingers.

He was pissed off...irritated...aggrivated...infuriated... frustrated and most of all

Angry.

Some son of a bitch had got the better of him, with a gun that wasn't even freaking loaded and to add he had lost Kairi as well which made him feel all the more ridiculed.

He knew he stood no chance against Sora. His punching arm had been severely injured and any rapid movements sent shocks of pain through his system. The same goes for his stomach, even breathing for him was painful. He vowed to himself that he would get revenge one day and the next time around, he would be prepared.

Those were the thoughts running through his mind as he sped down the road.

_Beep beep beep beep...beep beep_

He reached over for his cell phone, upon flipping it open his face drained of all colour as he saw the caller id.

_Xigbar..._

This could only mean one thing

He answered, bringing the cell phone to his ear.

"Axel, you are to report to the superior this instant. He wishes to talk with you."

"Do NOT be late, the superior isn't in a good mood."

Axel cringed.

He always found Xigbar's voice intimidating. It was the kind of voice that sent icicles down your spine even on a hot summers day. He was not one to anger especially when he was so close to the superior.

"I understand, I'm on my way now"

The other end disconnected and Axel flipped closed his cell phone.

Today just wasn't his day.

If the superior was in a foul mood as Xigbar had said then he had better start thinking of an explanation to save his Behind.

Axel drove into the Private parking area of the five star Traverse town hotel. Parking besides a Mitsubishi lancer, he got out and walked towards the lobby.

* * *

A man with long silver streaked black hair, tied up in a pony tail waited intently near reception for Axel. His right eye supported a black eye patch and his opposite cheek possessed a deep scar.

Axel scanned the lobby, finally locking eyes with Xigbar who beckoned him over to the elevator.

"So...why does the superior wish to see me?"

"I think you should know that better than anyone...", Xigbar stated coldly while he entered a ten digit code on the number pad, allowing access to the top floor.

A thin layer of cold sweat surfaced on Axel's forehead.

"_He aint gonna be happy when he hears this..."_

They arrived on the 20th floor and exited the elevator. Xigbar led him down a long corridor of doors. With each room they passed Axel could hear the faint sound of hushed voices. He thought back to the almost crowded private parking area and came to his realisation.

"_They're all here..."  
_

A silver haired man, tanned by countless beachside holidays throughout the years leaned back against a brown leather recliner. He turned to the next page of his newspaper, eyes carefully scanning the list of Stock results. The unrest for his shares performances have left him sleepless for many nights and completely ignorant of the events in the outside world.

"Hmph"

He grunted in dissatisfaction. Tearing off the page, he crumpled the piece of newspaper with a single hand throwing it towards the direction of the trash can only to miss.

A short blond haired man on the other side of the room drew his attention away from his hand of cards, sapphire eyes gleaming in the brightly lit room. He set his hand down on the table and walked towards the leather recliner away from the two participating members in the poker game.

"Something the matter sir? ...the shares is it?"

"-$16 in two weeks! Those bastards..."

"Not to worry sir...we could always pull out now. I heard Empcom is doing well we could earn the losses back in no time"

The blonde man, took out two glasses with ice from the cooler and made his way to the glass cabinet.

" Irish crème? As always?"

"Not today Luxord , I need something stronger..."

Luxord grinned.

"I know exactly what you need..."

He opened the cabinet, pulled out a bottle of Scotch and poured two shots worth into both glasses. Handing one to the superior, he finished his own in one swallow, smacking his lips to savour the crisp after taste.

"Ah...I almost forgot sir, you'll be pleased when you see this", Luxord exclaimed.

He went over to the stack of newspapers, still fresh with the scent of ink. They had been piling up day by day for an entire week, untouched by the superior who was in distraught over his shares. Luxord searched through the stack until he came upon an issue just a few days old. Pulling it out he walked over back to the recliner and handed it to the superior.

"It made front page too...as you can see sir..."

The superior smirked as soon as he saw the photo on the front page and continued to scan the headline of the article.

_Brutal murderer faces lifetime in jail._

"Why Luxord...this is...hahaha...HAHAHAHAHA"

Luxord smiled, the superior was in a good mood again. The good mood that had left him for the last few months. He had been with the superior for some time...two decades to be exact. It was him who had helped Luxord, bought him to his feet when all others shunned him. Vowing to stay by the superior from that day on, he made his purpose in life to do anything in his power to please him. He owed him his life.

The superior turned around, directing his attention towards a chunky muscular faced man with short blood orange wavy hair sitting at the poker table on the far left. His facial features seemed to be fixated in a permanent scowl which made it almost impossible for the man to show any other emotions than...well...anger.

"Lexaeus...I must say...you did a splendid job, I'll see to it myself that you are rewarded."

The man called Lexaeus remained silent. Giving only but a simple nod to signal his content.

_Tap...tap... tap_

The sudden knocking on the on the door forced the superior to draw his attention away from Lexaeus to the incoming guests. He placed the newspaper down on the table in front.

"enter..."

* * *

Axel stepped into the room after Xigbar. He hadn't been up here in awhile now, while taking a

moment to admire his surroundings he noticed a new snooker table on the far left hand side in front of the green poker table. Other than that the room looked just the same as last time he had paid a visit to the superior.

"Axel...please...sit"

The superior motioned for him to sit on the black leather sofa diagonal from his recliner.

"It's been a while...we should...catch up on some things"

"Luxord, if you please would you be so kind as to get our guest something to drink?"

"Of course sir, it would be my pleasure"

Luxord once again made his way to the glass cabinet , pulling out the scotch that had just recently served him and the superior. He poured about on shot's worth into an iced glass and made his way over to the leather sofa, handing the glass to Axel.

Axel lifted the glass to his lips. The ice cubes tinkling as a result from his trembling lips.

The superior waited patiently for him to finish the scotch before speaking again.

"I suppose you have taken care of _it?"_

Axel froze as he heard the words he dreaded most leave the lips of the superior.

His mind was lost in a maze, frantically trying to find a way to 'good explanation'.

"Well? Are you going to answer the superior?" Xigbar stated, slightly annoyed.

The superior remained silent. However something in those amber eyes hinted that his patience was running thin.

"_Well, I'd be done for both ways..."_

After much thought, Axel decided to go with the truth...partly anyway... and hope that the superior would give him minimal punishment if not none.

"…I...I had it taken care of...b...but then this guy he came with a fucking gun! I managed to get it off him...I had him right there...but turned out the gun wasn't even loaded and next thing I know I was out cold..."

"I got a good look at the guy though ...I can track him down...I...I can-"

"You FOOL!"

"CAN YOU NOT BE TRUSTED TO DO EVEN THE SIMPLEST OF JOBS?!"

Axel winced. After seeing Xigbar's reaction, he didn't even want to think about what the superior's would be.

Xigbar turned to the man in the recliner.

"Your superior...leave this to me I'll see that he gets the most sever pun-"

With a swift movement of one hand the superior silenced Xigbar.

"B...but sir! He-"

"Let him finish...Xigbar"

Axel felt a huge weight being lifted off him. Perhaps the superior was sparing today...or maybe he was in for something much worse, Axel chose to push the thought to the very back of his mind in order to relax.

"Now Axel...tell me about this man, who was he?"

"I...I didn't get a name...But I had a damn good look at him! I could probably-"

He stopped in mid sentence. Something on the red wood table in front of him had caught his eye.

"IT'S HIM!!!! THAT'S THE GUY!"

Axel pointed a finger accusingly at one of the photos on the front page of the newspaper.

The superior peered down, towards the direction where Axel had pointed.

"Detective Sora Harada...it seems like he was also involved with the case of Seifer's murder...interesting."

The superior smirked.

"I'm sure...being a great detective such as himself that he is he wouldn't leave a poor girl alone for the night would he?"

"Do you want me to handle him?" Lexaeus spoke, startling the superior as he was not a man of words, he hardly spoke and much less showed particular interest in any kill before. He was however a good man for any job that didn't question any part of his assignments and got it over with quickly.

"Expressing some interest are we?"

"Not just yet I'm afraid Lexaeus...having that girl besides him might just prove to be useful"

"Your time will come however no doubt about that..."

"W-what are you going to do your superior?", asked Axel.

"For now...we'll just watch..."

* * *

Hmm I'll get back to Sora and Kairi in the next chapter XP.

p.s thanks for the Reviews people..


	4. An unexpected visitor

I said It once and I will say it again I don't own any kingdom hearts or final fantasy characters.

Sorry bout the late update been caught up with playing FF8 which is the most awesome game ever( to me anyway..).

* * *

Kairi stirred.

The intense morning sunlight shone through the window and basked on her creamy skin.

"ugh..."

She groaned, pulling the blanket over her completely so that darkness surrounded her.

A few minutes passed and she decided to get up, knowing she would probably not fall asleep again.

Sitting up, she pushed the blankets off her and stretched her arms in the air, letting out the yawn of a satisfactory nap. This had to be one of the best sleeps she's had in awhile.

She blinked hard, trying to adjust to the blinding light. It was then she realised she was not in her own room and the clothes on her body were also foreign.

The events of last night came flooding back to her.

_Axel..._

_The gun..._

_Sora..._

She smiled to herself.

Just the thought of him made her feel unexplainably warm inside.

_Why..._

Not bothering to tame her cherry red hair that was sticking out in all directions from her slumber, she made the bed and tiptoed her way to the living room.

* * *

" Had a good night's rest I assume...sir?".

A man with shoulder length blue grey hair set a tray of orange juice and ham croissant on the small lamp table.

"Yes… The best sleep I've had in awhile actually"

"I'm glad…your superior", a man with shoulder length hair replied.

He bowed, his long bangs shading his face.

"Saix...please, call me...Xemnas..."

He lifted the glass of orange juice from the tray and bought it to his lips for a small sip.

"Saix….you are different from the others..."

"More like a brother to me than any of them..."

"How long has it been? Ten years?"

"I believe so your sup-...Xemnas"

* * *

She was right...Sora was still asleep. His left leg was dangling over the Sofa and his arms cuddling the pillow that his head rested upon. She giggled lightly. His faced looked so innocent, so young…as if he were just a nine year old boy.

Careful not to wake him, she slid open the glass door to the balcony and stepped outside.

* * *

"She escaped from Axel?!...sir...this could be-"

"Do not fear… I will send Xaldin to take care of it..."

"But where is she now?"

"Do you remember that famous "Mystery of the old mansion murder" case?"

"Why yes...it was 6 months ago I presume…and the detective...what was his name...?"

"Sora Harada...he just happened to be at the right place at the right time..."

Saix gasped.

"You are saying that she is with him?!"

"Yes...precisely...relax...I was thinking it might be useful...having a detective at our hands"

"B-but sir...Xemnas...what if she tells him about our-"

"Saix...my dear Saix... as you know I am always one step ahead"

"I've made sure to have Zexion to erase any files...history and evidence possible…even a detective can't dig us out"

"Are you sure he is reliable to take care of this? "

"He may be young...but don't let that fool you...I've seen what he can do."

Saix smiled, relieved that everything was taken care of.

* * *

She inhaled taking in the fresh morning air in an effort to calm her nerves. All was silent except for the chirping of the morning birds and the trickling of water in the fountain at the garden below.

"_What should I do...?"_

"_What will happen now?"_

"_I can't tell him..."_

Would they come after her?

But Axel didn't know where she was right?

"_They'll look for me..."_

She was almost sure of that. She knew too much...

The sooner she left the better it would be...before they find out.

Creeping back into the living room, she slipped on her sandals and made her way to the door.

She stopped.

* * *

"Xemnas...what if...she tells him surely he would-"

"Fear not I have everything in plan..."

* * *

She couldn't just leave without saying goodbye of some sort could she?

Careful not to wake Sora, she made her way to the table with the telephone. There she found a notepad and pen where she scribbled a quick note of apologies, thankyous and goodbyes.

Kairi made her way to the front door once again and turned around to look at Sora one last time, who was still in slumber land. She felt a pang of sadness knowing she could probably never see him again.

"_It's for the best..."_

"Goodbye Sora...", she whispered and reached for the door handle.

_Click._

Suddenly the door handle began to turn on its own accord catching her off guard. The door swung open revealing a short ebony haired girl in a green tank top and black shorts. She carried a large brown paper bag in one arm which seemed to be filled with various cooking ingredients.

"Sora! Are you awa-"

She gasped almost dropping the bag...

"Oh...my..."

"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!!!!"

"I...umm..."

Kairi was speechless. How was she going to explain this?

Sora groaned, annoyed by the rude awakening. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up.

"YU-YUFFIE!!!!??"

His once half opened eyes were now fully bulging out of his face.

Yuffie looked back and forth from Sora to Kairi. A smile crept onto her face.

"Oh so that's why you didn't pick up all those calls last night"

"H..HEY I..IT'S NOT LIKE THAT LET ME EXPLAIN"

Yuffie giggled

"don't deny it! All the evidence is here" she said, pointing to Kairi.

She blushed an even deeper shade of red, realising she was still in Sora's clothes.

Yuffie twirled herself in a circle while jumping up and down in excitement.

"SORA!!!!!!!!OH MY GOD!!! This is so great. I mean I can't even remember the last time you had a girl at your apartment...THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!!!!"

Sora buried his face in his hand and for that moment regretted ever giving Yuffie a copy of his apartment keys.

Yuffie rushed into the kitchen unpacking the items in her paper bag.

"Let's all have pancakes to celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

"Oh...is that what happened..." Yuffie exclaimed, slightly disappointed the situation was not what she had thought.

"Swo Uffi yuu hee?" Sora said between mouthfuls of butterscotch and walnut pancakes.

"Sora! Can you be abit more civilised!! Especially when you're in the company of two extremely gorgeous females."

Sora inhaled deeply, suppressing his ever growing irritation and fatigue. Sure he had known Yuffie ever since College but it didn't mean he got used to her ways with each passing year. He knew she meant well but sometimes she was just unbearable.

It was always the little things….. that made it seem she wanted control over every aspect in his life and lately she had even been over doing it more so than usual and Sora did not wish to deal with such things especially now when he had more important things in mind like Seifer's murder case.

Still, he said nothing as he knew from experience; it only made it worse.

Kairi played with the barely eaten food on her plate. She felt so awkward after that incident and added with the guilt that still lingered inside she found it almost too hard to face him. She had wanted to leave straight away but Yuffie was persistent enough saying she should stay for breakfast instead.

"Hey... I didn't manage to catch your name" Yuffie said, suddenly turning her attention to Kairi.

"Oh how rude of me...I'm Yuffie"

"My name is Kairi"

They both exchanged smiles.

"His room was a mess eh?"

"Huh?"

"When you were here last night I mean..."

"He's just always so caught up in his work he forgets to look after himself..."

"...I didn't mind really...I did have a good night's sleep" Kairi said, flashing a small smile at Sora.

"Well I guess all he needs is a girl in his life, one who will take goooood care if him...isn't that right?" Yuffie teased.

Sora gave an aggravated sigh.

"Let's go Yuffie, I got to get in the office early so I can sort through those interviews. I was thinking maybe we could run through some of them again."

"Wow just what I didn't expect to be bought up today." Yuffie uttered in a highly sarcastic tone.

"What do you expect? We have a job to do you know..."

"Yeah yeah... I get it...fine let's go"

"I guess I'd better get going too" stated Kairi.

"Don't worry I'll give you a lift...actually..."

"Hey Yuffie...do you mind giving her a lift back home?"

"I'm up for it I got no problem with that"

"Yeah...sorry I just want to get to the office early today and it just happens to be in the opposite direction."

Yuffie rolled her eyes whispering something to Kairi which made her giggle.

After everything was cleaned up from breakfast and Kairi changed into her own clothing the three exited the apartment and made their way down the stairs and outside.

Kairi thanked Sora one more time before she followed Yuffie to her car and Sora made his way to his own.

The drive to his office was a rather peaceful one, the morning rush had passed so there weren't many cars on the road. He parked in his usual spot and ran into the agency.

He slammed the door open and ran past the few rows of desks and headed towards the stairs leading to his own office.

A strong hand on his shoulder jerked him back, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hold yer horses there Harada you gave me a hell of a fright ya did!"

Sora turned around to come face to face with Cid Highwind, The boss of the detective agency. He was a man in his late thirties with short dirty blond hair and a bristly chin always sporting a pair of goggles on top of his head and a toothpick in his mouth as if he was always trying to pick out the remnants of his last meal.

"Sorry Sir, I just wanted get in early to go through the interviews of the Seifer Almasy murder case."

"C'mere Harada I've been wantin to talk ta yer"

Cid let Sora to his desk and rummaged through the many files, folders and magazines that lay scattered on his table. He dug through the pile of paper until he found a cream coloured folder.

"I know yer been racking yer brains out over that murder case."

"Just forget it...they've confirmed Cloud's the murderer...no use getting worked up over nutin

Not good for yer health."

"But-"

"Here read this."

Cid handed over the folder to Sora who opened it and scanned the report within.

"The Yoshida's were robbed?!"

"Damn right they were...not surprising either after that exhibition last week."

"Now I want yer to take care of it eh?"

"I..."

"That's my man"

Cid gave a firm pat on the shoulder and reached into his pocket in response to his vibrating phone.

"Well I Gots ta run, they need me over a few blocks from here want me to check the crime scene"

With that he made his way to front door and exited the building.

Sora stared at folder in his hand.

"_What am I going to do now..."_

The door suddenly flew open, snapping Sora from his thoughts. He was expecting it was Cid who had got back but instead a young man stood huffing and puffing in the doorway. He ran a hand over his forehead wiping off the sweat and through his short blond spikes. His piercing blue eyes scanning the room as he entered.

"Roxas?"

"Hey Sora!"

"He's not here is he?" Roxas asked in a hushed voice.

"Huh...oh...no he stepped out ten minutes ago"

Roxas grinned heaving a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank God for that, other wise he'd have my head off if he caught me late for the third time."

"Not like I can help it though, late night dinners with the girlfriend and traffic jams from hell on my side of town."

"Hey Sora! You wouldn't believe this!"

Another voice appeared at the door causing both men to turn towards the source of the voice.

"R-Riku?!"

"What are you doing here?!"

The silver haired male entered the agency, trailing behind him was a slender figured brunette which made Roxas gawk.

"Sora...Sora...Sora...is that how you welcome a good friend who's just bought the best piece of news you've had all week?"

"You have good news...for me?"

"Let me introduce to you this lovely lady over here. Sora, meet Tifa Lockhart."

"A pleasure to meet you"

Sora extended his hand and the young woman gratefully shook it.

"_What's he trying to get at? Is this another one of his girlfriends?"_

"I don't mean to sound rude, but who is she? "

"My client here may be the answer to that murder you've been investigating."

"_The case? She has something to do with the case?"_

"Sora, I'm a close friend of Cloud's ...when I heard about the murder case I couldn't just do anything...I-I know for sure he is innocent Cloud would never do such a thing!"

The tone of her voice told him that she was very serious about this. He felt a little better knowing that someone else shared his point of view. Proof he wasn't just going insane.

"You see a received a call from my client here just yesterday, Everyone else had labelled her as a Looney so as the good lawyer that I am..."

Sora rolled his eyes at the remark

_Yeah good lawyer alright...with women..._

"I decided to help her out. I came here knowing you would be interested in anything to do with that murder case."

"Please help me...I-I'll do anything to get Cloud out of that place!"

"What do you say Sora? Let's stick together for another case?"

Sora smirked.

"Let's do it."

"So you got any ideas?" Riku asked.

"W...we'll if you wouldn't mind Sora...I have an idea of a way I could help"

"Yeah sure go ahead. It would be great that you could help in any way."

"I was thinking...maybe I could try talking to Cloud...maybe try and find out why he's accepted the crime of someone else's doing"

"You know...I was thinking the same thing myself. Are you prepared for this? These things could get a little over emotional."

"Like I said I'll do anything to get Cloud out of there and I meant it, I'm prepared for anything!"

"Alright then. It seems like you're ready. If it's okay with you we could head down there right now?"

"That would be great!"

"Roxas...handle this one for me alright?"

Sora stuffed the folder in the blonde's hands as the three exited the building leaving a very much confused Roxas..

* * *

Scuse me for any errors you find. :)


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